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Apps: Angry Birds Friends, Haunted Hollow, Kindle 3.7 + Songza 3.0

Originally a Facebook-only game, Rovio’s Angry Birds Friends is now available on iOS for free. The game still revolves around Facebook though — you have to sign into Facebook to compete in the tournaments and challenge friends for trophies. New levels are added to tournaments every week, and the iOS game syncs automatically with the Facebook game. However, keep in mind the only single-player experience focuses on practicing with power-ups. It’s free, but Angry Birds Friends is still only worth downloading if you’ve got friends willing to play along. Otherwise, you’d be better off sticking with one of Rovio’s many other flying fowl titles.

Haunted Hollow (free) from 2K Games was developed by Firaxis, the same studio that made Sid Meier’s Civilization and XCOM: Enemy Unknown. The new strategy game for iOS lets players build and rule over a mansion while creating an army of monster minions. Players can send monsters such as vampires, zombies, mummies, witches, and reapers into town to capture townhouses and do battle. Multiplayer mode lets Haunted Hollow players face off against friends.

Amazon Mobile’s Kindle (free) app has been updated to version 3.7. The main focus of the new update is accessibility for blind and visually impaired users, as support for Apple’s VoiceOver technology has been added, letting the visually impaired hear more than 1.8 million titles read aloud. It’s also now easier to rate and review books, and the “before you go” features now lets users download free samples and email themselves reminders about recommended books.

Songza Media’s Songza (free) music app has updated to version 3.0. It’s now possible to make a playlist from Songza’s concierge page simply by shaking the device, and Songza will find the right music for the task. For instance, entering “entertaining” would give you one playlist, while “studying” would give you another playlist. A long press from the concierge page will now immediately staring playing the playlist Songza thinks you’ll “love most at that moment.” It’s now easier to find music from favorite artists, by searching and finding every curated playlist that features said artist. Songza also claims its new HQ Audio feature can improve headphone sound quality without increasing data plan usage.